Tiarella plant named ‘Jade Peacock’

ABSTRACT

The new hybrid plant cultivar of  Tiarella  ‘Jade Peacock’ has moderately lobed glossy foliage of light green with center burgundy palm in the spring. Leaves develop into jade green later in summer and greyed-purple tinting in winter. The mounded, non-running habit is topped by light pink flowers on tightly clustered racemes over a prolonged period beginning in early May.

Botanical denomination: Tiarella hybrid.

Cultivar designation: ‘Jade Peacock’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Foamflower in the Saxifragaceae family and given the cultivar name of ‘Jade Peacock’. Tiarella ‘Jade Peacock’ resulted from a cross between Tiarella ‘Pink Brushes’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,329 and Tiarella ‘Cascade Creeper’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 21,925 and was originally assigned the breeder code K11-14-04. The new plant was hybridized on Mar. 8, 2011, sown on Apr. 4, 2011 and initially selected from among other seedlings growing at a nursery in Zeeland, Mich. in the summer of 2011 by the inventor Kevin A. Hurd. Tiarella ‘Jade Peacock’ has been asexually propagated by division and by careful tissue culture propagation at the same nursery in Zeeland, Mich., and the resultant asexual propagules have been remained stable and exhibit the same characteristics as the original plant in multiple generations.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The nearest comparison varieties known to the applicant are the parents, Tiarella ‘Pink Brushes’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,329 and Tiarella ‘Cascade Creeper’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 21,925 along with Tiarella ‘Sugar and Spice’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 16,738 and Tiarella ‘Spring Symphony’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,397.

Compared to Tiarella ‘Jade Peacock’, ‘Pink Brushes’ has thinner and less pronounced center purple palm throughout the year and the racemes are less dense and numerous. ‘Cascade Creeper’ has foliage that is more deeply lobed and the racemes are more spread out and less numerous, and the flower buds are more pink. ‘Sugar and Spice’ has more acute leaf apices and flower racemes less tightly arranged than Tiarella ‘Jade Peacock’ and ‘Iron Butterfly’ has less numerous racemes of light pink flowers with fewer flowers per raceme and is effective for a shorter period of time.

Tiarella ‘Jade Peacock’ is distinct from all other Foamflower plants known to the applicant in the following combined traits:

-   -   1. Light pink flowers densely displayed on numerous         singly-branched racemes.     -   2. Mounded habit with numerous, tall, tightly-packed racemes         over a prolonged period.     -   3. Moderately lobed palmate foliage with glossy surfaces.     -   4. Foliage color with center burgundy palm surrounded by light         green to jade green becoming tinted with greyed-purple in         winter.

Additional comparisons of plants with U.S. Plant Patents are presented in Table 1.

TABLE 1 LEAF SUR- FLOWER SCAPE CULTIVAR FACE COLOR HEIGHT LOBES HABIT Tiarella ‘Jade glossy light pink 43 cm deep mounding Peacock’ Tiarella ‘Sunset glossy white 21 cm shallow trailing Ridge’ U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 23,628 Tiarella ‘Pacific glossy white 18 cm deep trailing Crest’ U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 23,591 Tiarella ‘Oregon matte white 31 cm deep trailing Trail’ U.S. PLANT PAT NO. 22,712 Tiarella matte white 31 cm shallow trailing ‘Appalachian Trail’ U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 22,675 Tiarella ‘Stephanie glossy white 20 cm deep mounding Cohen’ U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 22,258 Tiarella ‘Lehigh’ matte white 15 cm medium running U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 22,031 Tiarella matte white 30 cm shallow trailing ‘Delaware’ U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 21,980 Tiarella matte white 30 cm medium mounding ‘Wissahickon’ U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 21,963 Tiarella matte white 30 cm medium running ‘Susquehanna’ U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 21,961 Tiarella ‘Happy glossy white 23 cm medium running Trails’ U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 21,933 Tiarella ‘Cascade matte white 43 cm deep running Creeper’ U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 21,925 Tiarella ‘Mystic matte white 23 cm shallow mounding Mist’ U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 21,282 Tiarella ‘Morning glossy pink 25 cm very mounding Star’ U.S. PLANT PAT. deep NO. 17,486 Tiarella ‘Sugar and glossy pink 30 cm deep mounding Spice’ U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 16,738 Tiarella matte near white 30 cm very mounding ‘TNTIA041’ U.S. PLANT PAT. deep NO. 16,734 Tiarella ‘Candy matte white 30 cm very mounding Striper’ U.S. PLANT PAT. deep NO. 15,528 Tiarella ‘Running matte white as cm medium semi- Tiger’ U.S. PLANT PAT. running NO. 15,360 Tiarella ‘Pirate's matte white 32 cm shallow semi- Patch’ U.S. PLANT PAT. running NO. 14,907 Tiarella matte white 30 cm medium mounding ‘Springwood’ U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 14,087 Tiarella ‘Seafoam’ matte white 35 cm deep mounding U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 13,696 Tiarella ‘Black matte white 45 cm shallow mounding Snowflake’ U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 13,684 Tiarella ‘Pink matte white 40 cm shallow mounding Pearls’ U.S. PLANT PAT NO. 13,445 Tiarella ‘Jeepers matte white 30 cm deep semi- Creepers’ U.S. PLANT PAT. running NO. 13,437 Tiarella ‘Pink matte pink 28 cm very mounding Skyrocket’ U.S. PLANT PAT. deep NO. 13,382 Tiarella ‘Pink matte pink 45 cm medium mounding Brushes’ U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 13,329 Tiarella ‘Neon glossy light pink 40 cm medium mounding Lights’ U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 13,289 Tiarella ‘Starfish’ matte light pink 32 cm very mounding U.S. PLANT PAT. deep NO. 13,148 Tiarella ‘Spring matte light pink 25 cm very mounding Symphony’ U.S. PLANT PAT. deep NO. 12,397 Tiarella ‘Iron glossy light pink 22 cm deep mounding Butterfly’ U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 12,396 Tiarella ‘Black matte light pink 35 cm deep mounding Velvet’ U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 12,348 Tiarella ‘Crow glossy pink 30 cm deep mounding Feather’ U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 12,335 Tiarella ‘Mint matte pink 38 cm medium mounding Chocolate’ U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 11,379 Tiarella ‘Spanish glossy pink 28 cm deep mounding Cross’ U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 11,345 Tiarella ‘Ninja’ matte white 38 cm deep mounding U.S. PLANT PAT. NO. 11,168 Tiarella ‘Cygnet’ matte pink 45 cm very mounding U.S. PLANT PAT. deep NO. 11051

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The photographs of Tiarella ‘Jade Peacock’ demonstrate the overall appearance of the plant including the unique traits. The colors are as accurate as reasonably possible with color reproductions. Some slight variation of color may occur as a result of lighting quality, intensity, wavelength, and direction or reflection.

FIG. 1 shows a close-up of the flowers and buds of the new plant in early spring.

FIG. 2 shows a close-up of the foliage of the new plant in mid-summer with various stages of foliage colors.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following description is based on a one-year old plant of Tiarella ‘Jade Peacock’ growing in a full sun trial garden with supplemental water and fertilizer in Zeeland, Mich., USA. The new plant has not been grown under all possible environments and may phenotypically appear different under different conditions such as light, temperatures, fertilizer, and water, without any difference in genotype. The color descriptions used are from the 2001 edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except where common dictionary terms are used.

-   Parentage: Female (seed parent) Tiarella ‘Pink Brushes’ U.S. Plant     Pat. No. 13,329; male (pollen) Tiarella ‘Cascade Creeper’ U.S. Plant     Pat. No. 21,925. -   Plant habit: Hardy herbaceous perennial with compact basal shoots     each with a basal rosette of foliage; mounded foliage about 18 cm     tall and 34 cm in diameter. -   Roots: Fibrous, finely branched; color light beige to near white     depending on soil type. -   Growth rate: Rapid, rooting from cutting in 2 weeks and finishing in     three-liter container in about 3 months. -   Foliage: Cordate, serrate, palmately five-lobed; pubescent above and     below; slightly lustrous above and below. -   Leaf blade: To about 13.5 cm long and 12.0 cm wide, average about     9.5 cm long and 8.5 cm across; undulate to lightly concaved     downward. -   Leaf blade color: Seasonably variable; spring young emerging leaves     top and bottom surface nearest RHS 177C with tinting of green and     the center marking between RHS 187C and RHS 187B along major veins     and spreading out to about 1.0 cm; late spring and summer between     RHS 144A and RHS 146C with center palm following main veins between     RHS 187C and RHS 187B above and between RHS 146C and RHS 146D     underneath without darker center palms; summer and fall mature     leaves in full sun nearest RHS 137A with tinting or blush of greyed     purple nearest RHS N186A with a dark palm of nearest RHS N186A     above, below between RHS 147B and RHS 147C with slight greyed-purple     tinting from the upper surface; overwintered leaves top surface     nearest RHS 187A in some regions and between RHS 183B and RHS 183C     in other regions, with a palm running along major veins nearest RHS     N186A, below nearest RHS 182C with darker greyed-purple pigment     showing through from above. -   Leaf margin: Serrate and hirsutulous. -   Leaf apex: Acute. -   Leaf base: Cordate with overlapping lobes. -   Leaf surface: Hirsutulous both above and below. -   Leaf quantity: About 50 per plant. -   Veins: Hirsutulous, palmate, slightly impressed above and raised     below; same color as surrounding leaf tissue on top and bottom     surfaces. -   Petiole: Round in cross section, hirsute, about 18.0 cm long and 2.5     mm diameter. -   Petiole color: Seasonally variable; overwintered petioles between     RHS 176 B and RHS 182A; more red than RHS 177B and more brown than     RHS 182A on older foliage; and 145A on emerging foliage. -   Inflorescence: In tight, frequently singly-branched raceme; about 45     to 50 racemes per plant in various stages at one time; about 80     flowers per main stem and 20 per branch; about 2.5 cm across;     individual racemes flowering starting in early May for about 4     weeks. -   Fragrance: Sweetly fragrance. -   Peduncle: Round in cross section, hirsute, about 38 cm tall and 2.5     mm in diameter. -   Peduncle color: Young developing racemes nearest RHS 162C with green     undertones nearest RHS 145C; older nearest RHS 177A with green     undertones nearest RHS 138A; upper regions nearest RHS 185A. -   Pedicel: Round in cross section, hirsutulous, about 8.0 mm long and     0.5 mm diameter. -   Pedicel color: Nearest RHS 185B at base and lighter than RHS 186D at     distal end. -   Buds: One day prior to opening—oblong, about 3.5 mm long and 2.5 mm     diameter. -   Bud color: Closest to RHS 73D. -   Flower: Perfect, actinomophic, peta1oid sepals, rotate with stamens     exserted, about 6.0 mm long and 7.0 mm in diameter at face;     individual flowers lasting about 4 days on plant or on cut panicle;     flowers dense and outward to slightly upwardly facing. -   Petals: Five; spatulate; margin entire, apex narrowly acute, base     attenuate; about 3 mm long and 1.0 mm wide; color nearest RHS N155C     on both surfaces. -   Calyx: Five, oblong-ovate; campanulate, acute apex, about 3.5 mm     long and 1.0 mm across; fused in the bottom 1 mm; color nearest RHS     69D. -   Androecium: Typically ten.     -   -   Filaments.—Thin, exserted, about 10 mm long and less than             0.5 mm diameter; color white lighter than RHS 155D.         -   Anthers.—Elliptic; longitudinal, basifixed; about 0.8 mm             long and 0.5 mm diameter; color nearest RHS 170B.         -   Pollen.—Abundant; color nearest RHS 170A. -   Gynoecium: Carpels two, unequal.     -   -   Style.—Two, separate; 0.5 and 5.0 mm long and about 1.0             across; lighter than RHS 155D.         -   Stigma.—Miniscule; same color as style.         -   Ovary.—Oblong with pointed apex; about 2.0 mm long and 1.0             mm diameter; color nearest RHS 1D. -   Fruit: Two-valved capsule, about 6 mm long and 3 mm in diameter at     widest portion; color nearest RHS 199A. -   Seed: Ovoid, less than 0.3 mm long and wide; color nearest RHS 200A. -   Disease and pest tolerance: The new plant grows best with ample     moisture and drainage in some shade. As with most Foamflower plants,     ‘Jade Peacock’, is usually avoided by browsing deer. Cold hardy from     USDA zones 4 to 9. Other resistance and tolerance outside of that     normal for Tiarella is not known. 

I claim:
 1. The new and distinct Foamflower plant named Tiarella ‘Jade Peacock’ as herein described and illustrated with young spring foliage of light green, maturing to multi-shaded jade green with center burgundy palm and becoming tinted with greyed-purple, having numerous racemes of light pink flowers on tightly congested mounds. 